Outlines of R&D - Pharmaceuticals -
Pharmaceuticals product lineup
Pharmaceuticals is the area where the largest share of our resources is invested. We cover two fields: the company's own proprietary drugs, and also custom-made pharmaceuticals. With our proprietary drugs, we aim to create new, useful products able to make a valuable contribution to society by focusing our R&D on immunoinflammatory, circulatory, and lifestyle-related diseases.
The flagship product among our proprietary drugs is the anti-allergy agent, Tarion*1, developed in cooperation with the Tanabe Seiyaku. This drug shows outstanding potency against allergic rhinitis.
It was first licensed by the Japanese government in 2000 for allergic rhinitis, and in 2002 additionally for use against dermatological conditions such as urticaria.
The second of our proprietary drugs is an antihypertensive agent known as Calblock*2. This drug was born out of a collaborative R&D venture with Sankyo. Calblock was licenced in 2003 and is distinguished by its slow onset and long duration of action.
Ube Industries is also developing other compounds on a worldwide scale in collaboration with both domestic and overseas partners. Currently at the stage of clinical study, we have an antithrombotic agent expected to show strong potency, and an antiulcer drug which has its own unique properties. In addition to these two drugs, we have discovered a number of other chemical entities ready for clinical study, and are actively promoting those to domestic and overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers.
In custom-made pharmaceuticals, Ube Industries has already introduced dozens of APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) and drug intermediates on to the market, including anti-inflammatory agents and painkillers, along with antihypertensive and antibacterial agents.
Recently, we have expanded our activities to include the manufacture of intermediates for the so-called mega drugs, such as a new type of oral anticancer agent and third generation cholesterol-lowering agents utilizing Ube's unique heterocyclic compound synthesis technology.
*1 Tarion® is a registered trademark of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation.
*2 Calblock® is a registered trademark of Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.
